Confronting the Shadow

I've been delving into some Jung psychology lately and looking at this concept of a shadow..

If I understand correctly. Every person has a shadow. The repressed parts of one's selfish desires take on a life of their own within the psyche of an individual. Becoming a sort of inner demon. When we oppress the shadow. It's like putting a wild tiger in a cage. Which some will feed in secret.. this however, only strengthens it to the point where it begins to seep through the cracks of our mental barriers anyway.. causing the occasional Freudian slip.. while others are completely devoured by it and willfully so..

I believe this is the "dark side" within that everyone has to face somewhere along their journey. Just as Christ faced his in the wilderness. When he encountered his darkness. He didn't run or hide, nor did he surrender to it. Instead, he resolved it.. causing this "adversary" to flee from him.. and bringing himself closer to the Light..

I wonder if anyone else feels that this is a deep formative process that is inevitable on this path of inner knowledge and discover of the true nature of The Force we've set on..

I think its the interaction of different layers of mental processing which create the appearance of different self natures. And I think its just part of generating consciousness, and actually not any tangible state of standalone repressed consciousness.

Having said that though.... one can model their consciousness on their experiences with it if they elected to. But I don't think its necessary to do that to be closer to ones essence, nor that its useful in the objective reality we call the world.

I do think its important to be comfortable with it, and explore it, so one can work with it as self improvement though... which to me is just another part of spirituality. As IMO psychology and spirituality have a massive overlap.

Adder wrote: I think its the interaction of different layers of mental processing which create the appearance of different self natures. And I think its just part of generating consciousness, and actually not any tangible state of standalone repressed consciousness.

Having said that though.... one can model their consciousness on their experiences with it if they elected to. But I don't think its necessary to do that to be closer to ones essence, nor that its useful in the objective reality we call the world.

I do think its important to be comfortable with it, and explore it, so one can work with it as self improvement though... which to me is just another part of spirituality. As IMO psychology and spirituality have a massive overlap.

Shadows don't stand alone anyway lol they're always a consequence of something else.. and anything on this level is beyond any classification of tangibility as we understand it lol..

Spirituality is often said to be a battle in the mind and heart; or the conscious and subconscious.. this is starting to look like a point where tangible and intangible overlap as well..

If there's a collective conscious. That means it has a model of its own that is shared by all conscious creatures.. If consciousness is shared. By who and where?.. are there other intelligent species that share our nature?.. do animals share also?.. If it is it's own archetype and not exclusively man-made. What is it exactly, and where is it's root?.. What is consciousness?.. is it exclusively biological or something more intangible?..

I'm betting more.. the same exact situation can happen to twins of the same household and you could get two radically different results..

At any rate though, I think it's important to face that shadow in ourselves. We shouldn't run from it or fear it. Much like the Jedi of the "Lore".. that seems to be just as destructive as acting on whatever impulse arises from these "darker" parts of our consciousness..

Uzima Moto wrote: I've been delving into some Jung psychology lately and looking at this concept of a shadow..

If I understand correctly. Every person has a shadow. The repressed parts of one's selfish desires take on a life of their own within the psyche of an individual. Becoming a sort of inner demon. When we oppress the shadow. It's like putting a wild tiger in a cage. Which some will feed in secret.. this however, only strengthens it to the point where it begins to seep through the cracks of our mental barriers anyway.. causing the occasional Freudian slip.. while others are completely devoured by it and willfully so..

I believe this is the "dark side" within that everyone has to face somewhere along their journey. Just as Christ faced his in the wilderness. When he encountered his darkness. He didn't run or hide, nor did he surrender to it. Instead, he resolved it.. causing this "adversary" to flee from him.. and bringing himself closer to the Light..

I wonder if anyone else feels that this is a deep formative process that is inevitable on this path of inner knowledge and discover of the true nature of The Force we've set on..

I understand this is under the Abrahamic part of the Temple.
I am not a of the Abrahamic faith. I do study it and can encourage others in it who are - to grow their own faith. I encourage every one to grow no matter what their faith. This example of our shadow reminds me of the “dragon” or the dark wolf a few have shred here and in life with me. It’s said when light meets darkness one must flee from the others presence. Yet - in nature - darkness is a part of the daily necessity for growth and re birth.
Personally - I’ve had my own personal dealings with my own “demons” and now they are very different than before - and it’s not a denominational thing as it has become a character - thing. For me- that constantly checking over my back or the “dark tendencies” have been refurbished to result in character - to me- worth keeping. What seemed like fear or worry was turned to faithfulness and seeking and reason by my own choice.
Shadows can be feared or they can be other things. We can cut off our nose to spite our face but then if our shadow is from us and a part of us - why try to kill it ? Why hurt ourselves rather than understand our selfs. James Allen has a great book on such an idea- As a man thinketh , it’s in our library too. If thats us - why automatically hurt it? Jesus sat under olive trees and walked in nature often as an example- an example I use even though - I’m no Christian yet the character to me is worth it. Did Jesus slay his dark side or his shadow ? Ever think on these things...?

Well, that's exactly what I mean. Not that we slay the "shadow" within ourselves. It seems to me that we more or less ought to come to terms with it.. and when I say "shadow of darkness". I'm trying to describe something beyond the balance of Active and Passive forces in Nature..

My understanding of darkness is a sort of entropic power.. it kind of erodes the balance of Nature.. it's a subtle power.. but we couldn't kill it anymore than it can completely devoured the light..

I think working on that shadow of light in ourselves - coming to terms with our darkness - is part of the path of wholeness.. understanding, and resolving those repressed parts of our selfish nature - the shadow of our ego in the light of true self - allows us to fully comprehend ourselves and I think it connects us all even deeper.. fighting fire with fire only makes it stronger. You can't "kill" your shadow..

The Jedi Order is a perfect example of what I mean.. that was the problem with their teaching.. They taught their students to recognize the Dark Side just enough to run from it or destroy it at all costs.. not to truly confront it in themselves and resolve it.. Students fell to the corruption of pride - thinking themselves superior instead of ordinary - seeking greater power. Eventually forgetting to serve others in their quest to serve themselves.. Students also fell to anger, fear, and guilt; unable to properly deal with their experiences and coming to terms with them..

In the sense that all these different logia say that the Light is within us. If we are to be more in tune with that Light - IMO The Force. It seems that we have to deal with our "shadows". It's all the same to me when it comes to any religion or faith.. Love, Wholeness, Peace, Power, Freedom, Wisdom, Understanding.. Spirit is a very conscious thing.. regardless of whatever inner - or outer - psychic ability we develope.. I believe the condition of the nature of our psyche - our inner selves- is what's most important.. I think we should beware the "heaviness of a bitter nature"..

@Adder and @Carlos, just out of curiosity, do you guys believe in a light and dark side to the Force? Reading through all of the posts here at the temple and within my own writing there are lots of mentions of “balance.” It seems to me that you cannot have “balance”—that such vernacular is useless—without two different poles, I.e., light and dark, heavy and light, fast and slow, etc.. or do you believe that the concept of balance itself is also an effect of our layers of mental expression overlapping?

Axid wrote: @Adder and @Carlos, just out of curiosity, do you guys believe in a light and dark side to the Force? Reading through all of the posts here at the temple and within my own writing there are lots of mentions of “balance.” It seems to me that you cannot have “balance”—that such vernacular is useless—without two different poles, I.e., light and dark, heavy and light, fast and slow, etc.. or do you believe that the concept of balance itself is also an effect of our layers of mental expression overlapping?

Depends on a person priorities. To be I'm all about the 'luminous mind' as being connection to the Force and using that to enable effective living. So I don't use the terms to denote a moral position, but a Force orientation. Being that there is pure Force (light) and absence of it (dark)... and so the scale represented by the dichotomy is about connection to the local peak/source of the Force, whether one is pointed towards connecting to it, or away, and to what extent. The greater the Force connection the less local the connection need be, ie reaching out with ones feelings.

So the Force represents the essence; generally speaking unknowable beyonds its interactions, which therefore give meaning to its action which I call 'nature'. There are infinite natures of the essence, but sentience emerges when the Force is stratified and lamination of it occurs, creating an illusion of a separate self. Anything which reinforces the self above the Force is dark, and vice versa. When a practitioner of this, say a Jedi, views all things in this framework they can coordinate all aspects of their existence to it... and balance becomes about the tension between identification of sentience as self and sentience as beyond self, and how best to maximise results.

And it can go too far either way, and be unbalanced. So from that perspective, its not about balancing dark and light, but balancing oneself in the dark to the light.

Which is why I consider the shadow to sort of navel gazing, not without purpose but easily clung onto as more then it might be, again depending on what the persons priorities are. It was my Catholic upbringing which introduced me to this paradigm, with the strong association to 'light' being a vehicle of spirit etc. One that was reinforced with various flavours of Tibetan Buddhism, and all served by the vehicle that for me is Jediism.

Uzima Moto wrote: Well, that's exactly what I mean. Not that we slay the "shadow" within ourselves. It seems to me that we more or less ought to come to terms with it.. and when I say "shadow of darkness". I'm trying to describe something beyond the balance of Active and Passive forces in Nature..

My understanding of darkness is a sort of entropic power.. it kind of erodes the balance of Nature.. it's a subtle power.. but we couldn't kill it anymore than it can completely devoured the light..

I think working on that shadow of light in ourselves - coming to terms with our darkness - is part of the path of wholeness.. understanding, and resolving those repressed parts of our selfish nature - the shadow of our ego in the light of true self - allows us to fully comprehend ourselves and I think it connects us all even deeper.. fighting fire with fire only makes it stronger. You can't "kill" your shadow..

The Jedi Order is a perfect example of what I mean.. that was the problem with their teaching.. They taught their students to recognize the Dark Side just enough to run from it or destroy it at all costs.. not to truly confront it in themselves and resolve it.. Students fell to the corruption of pride - thinking themselves superior instead of ordinary - seeking greater power. Eventually forgetting to serve others in their quest to serve themselves.. Students also fell to anger, fear, and guilt; unable to properly deal with their experiences and coming to terms with them..

In the sense that all these different logia say that the Light is within us. If we are to be more in tune with that Light - IMO The Force. It seems that we have to deal with our "shadows". It's all the same to me when it comes to any religion or faith.. Love, Wholeness, Peace, Power, Freedom, Wisdom, Understanding.. Spirit is a very conscious thing.. regardless of whatever inner - or outer - psychic ability we develope.. I believe the condition of the nature of our psyche - our inner selves- is what's most important.. I think we should beware the "heaviness of a bitter nature"..

If you are referring to books cannon or movies - the Jedi Order there were political and army type of style and fictional. It’s easy to pick apart and open to almost all manners and forms of accusations and interrogations. Way easy to pick apart.As for the question directed at me - I believe in the Force. Personally, there is in my path no light or dark and often the balance I make my search for is me and my character and my will and a lot of things that deal with my own choices. Some share what I believe some do not. Some rely on faith some rely on experiences some rely on a very many things to create the character or the love or the strenght or fill in the blank ——- .


Edit : in any militant style training as such as the temple of the Jedi order in the movies cannon and such expect there to be a line drawn and there’s always that this or this or that or that type of training. In real life is the same thing get up in the morning and do this or that choices come from one or the other that’s the easiest way to train. I’ve been do a few basic trainings I’ve served duel service .I’ve even trained myself a few thousand troops myself- the easiest way is off or on one or the other.

Well Carlos, look at anyone who was high in the public's eye until an unfortunate series of events and decisions caused them to fall..

Look at us as a species. The collective distraction and influence of our shadows breeds fear, envy, corruption, war, environmental destruction, and will eventually, self annihilation.. all the time being itself a distraction to the grid of control closing in around us..

The Dark Side is a very quiet power, but yet still quite the power..

"Such a quiet thing, to fall.. but far more terrible is to admit it.."

Uzima Moto wrote: Well Carlos, look at anyone who was high in the public's eye until an unfortunate series of events and decisions caused them to fall..

Look at us as a species. The collective distraction and influence of our shadows breeds fear, envy, corruption, war, environmental destruction, and will eventually, self annihilation.. all the time being itself a distraction to the grid of control closing in around us..

The Dark Side is a very quiet power, but yet still quite the power..

"Such a quiet thing, to fall.. but far more terrible is to admit it.."

Oh - I can totally agree with you there. People fall everywhere and ... they are raised up. I fall often - Do we give those shadows a place or do we swing our “swords” left and right and scream till there’s nothing left , often not counting the damage it can also do to those around us. Can we learn from it? Can we as humans use our “sword” as a helpful thing rather than just hack away at times. If the word of God are the scriptures and the spirit of his heart-can those be used to help shed light and darkness on others? Which do we choose to use them as? I’ve seen and heard countless sermons from the pulpit - Hack away at faith and enemy’s of the faith and I’ve seen with my own two eyes acts - just simple small acts shatter “dark” or “evil” things so far they never return. These type of actions seem to be that “balanced sword” or a different type of use ow the same words or the same actions. I love the Abrahamic example of forgiveness and I love even more when it’s applied. That application can be often - a stronger example than near speech.
Shadows are everywhere if there is light. Some you may not be able to do anything about - yet some - like our own - we may.
This is from me to you - it’s is from my path to your own. My hope is that every one find their own faith and grows in it. In the Abrahamic faith I’ve seen molehills and mountains. I sit with both gladly! What can we do with our shadows when we find them? As sure as there is light there are shadows.